Welcome back, to the ‘Future’

1of19Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) on a hoverboard in "Back to the Future Part II." The 1989 film featured what the future would look like in 2015. image courtesy Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.Photo: Courtesy Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

3of19Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in holding a hoverboard in "Back to the Future Part II." The 1989 film featured what the future would look like in 2015. Image courtesy Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.Photo: Universal Pictures Home Entertai / Universal Pictures Home Entertai

5of19The all-new "Back to the Future 30th Anniversary Trilogy set offers all three films in the popular "Back to the Future" trilogy, along with bonus materials.Photo: Courtesy Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

6of19The Transition street-legal airplane by Massachusetts-based flying car company Terrafugia. The first six Transition airframes were reserved for $299,000 each and should hit in 2017.Photo: Courtesy Terrafugia

8of19"Back to the Future" collector Dagoberto Patlan owns a replica hover board as seen in the movie.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

9of19"Back to the Future" collector Dagoberto Patlan owns a replica set of lighted boots with self-tying shoelaces as seen in the movie.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

10of19Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) in front of the DeLorean time machine in "Back to the Future Part II." The 1989 film featured what the future would look like in 2015. Image courtesy Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.Photo: Courtesy Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

11of19"Back to the Future" collector Dagoberto Patlan owns a DeLorean vehicle as seen in the movie.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

12of19"Back to the Future" collector Dagoberto Patlan owns a replica flux capacitor as seen in the movie. It is installed in his DeLorean vehicle.Photo: Billy Calzada, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

13of19An Aerial MOB drone is used to shoot a scene on the set of "Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders" on Sept. 9, 2015 in Santa Clarita, Calif. The eight-rotor model is capable of carrying a 22 lb. camera and flying at 40 mph. The company, with offices in Los Angeles, San Diego and Vancouver, provides unmanned aerial cinematography services.Photo: Myung J. Chun /McClatchy-Tribune News Service

14of19Derek Ray with his drone at The Event Centre in Beaumont.Photo: Guiseppe Barranco /The Enterprise

15of19Pepsi Perfect is being sold for $20.15 online Wednesday, October 21, 2015, as a tie-in to the product's appearance in 1989's "Back to the Future Part II." Consumers can check Pepsis social channels for more information.Photo: Courtesy PepsiCo

16of19Nothing like touchscreen fun with extra breadsticks. Ziosk table tablets at restaurants such as Olive Garden allow diners to order menu items, pay their bill and even play trivia with fellow diners.Photo: Courtesy Ziosk

17of19Who wants to video chat from their living room? Skype calls can be made on various televisions, be they Skype-ready smart TVs or regular high-definition TVs with an all-in-one TV cam plugged in. (Used with permission from Microsoft.)Photo: Courtesy Microsoft

“Back to the Future” fans couldn’t pick a better day to hop into that time-traveling DeLorean than Oct. 21, 2015 — yep, today — the very dashboard date of the “future” Marty McFly and Doc Brown race to in 1989’s “Back to the Future Part II.”

Call it a day 30 years in the making. The first “Back to the Future” film blasted into theaters in 1985, kicking-off a hit sci-fi trilogy that has grossed almost $1 billion worldwide. Marty and Doc zigzag across various eras in the saga, from as far-out as the 21st century imagined in “Part II” to as far back as the Old West in 1990’s “Back to the Future Part III.”

Which brings us back to today, so to speak. “Part II” has Marty and Doc encounter a vibrant future on Oct. 21, 2015, one riddled with flying cars, hoverboards and other technological marvels too good or too goofy to be true, as the duo shake up the space-time continuum to fix Marty’s future.

Naturally, Wednesday is being called “Back to the Future” Day. And Great Scott! are there plenty of ways to celebrate it. Cinemas around the nation and San Antonio will host special “Back to the Future” screenings. And don’t forget the commemorative merchandise, such as the 30th anniversary Blu-ray and DVD release of the hit sci-fi trilogy or a limited line of Pepsi Perfect bottles from the second film that’s on sale Wednesday.

So what did “Back to the Future Part II” get right for 2015? Here’s a look at some of the gadgetry from the film that didn’t quite catch on or catch up with this timeline, along with some of the doodads that did.

Flying cars: “Part II” drives smack dab into “skyway” traffic, as Doc, Marty and Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer enter a 2015 packed with flying cars and old vehicles that can be “hover-converted” for only $39,999.95.

The reality: Sorry, Doc, where we’re going we still need those roads. The closest 2015 has come to flying cars is the Transition street-legal airplane and the still-in-development TF-X, both by Massachusetts-based flying car company Terrafugia. The first six Transition airframes were reserved for $299,000 each and should hit the road/airways in 2017, while the TF-X isn’t expected to see delivery for another eight to 12 years. For more information, visit terrafugia.com.

Self-adjusting clothes: To blend in with the 2015 populace of the fictional Hill Valley, California, Marty sports a jacket with self-adjusting sleeves and a pair of Nike high-top sneakers with light-up panels and power laces. Bonus fashion points for Marty’s iridescent cap.

The reality: When it comes to “Part II’s” futuristic fashions, it’s gotta be the shoes. In 2011, Nike auctioned 1,500 pairs of the those famous Nike MAG sneakers sans self-tying laces, raising $4.7 million on eBay to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Nike is reportedly expected to release a new self-lacing shoe this year.

More Information

Get “Back to the Future” on the big screen

Theaters in San Antonio and the surrounding area screening “Back to the Future” films Wednesday.

Holograms: Who could forget Marty cowering in terror from a shark hologram promoting “Jaws 19,” or gawking at a hologram sports flash that the Chicago Cubs won the 2015 World Series?

The reality: Moviegoers have come to expect the added depth (and added cost) of 3-D movies in multiplexes and home theaters, though it takes 3-D glasses to bring that feature to life. As for the Cubs finally winning their first Fall Classic since 1908, they currently face the New York Mets in the 2015 National League Championship Series.

The tech of Cafe 80’s: In a heady serving of retro-futurism, Marty enters an ’80s-themed diner featuring a Max Headroom-like Ronald Reagan and Michael Jackson as video waiters on roving television screens, along with ’80s memorabilia on the walls, ’80s TV shows playing behind the counter and on monitors at tables. Cafe 80’s also serves up the rootin’-tootin’ old video game “Wild Gunman” and refreshing Pepsi Perfect.

The reality: As noted earlier, Pepsi is releasing limited quantities of Pepsi Perfect bottles for sale online today. (See Pepsi’s social channels for more details.) The 16.9 oz. bottles will contain real Pepsi and cost $20.15. And for video screen fun while dining out, Olive Garden and Chili’s restaurants have Ziosk table tablets that let diners order menu items, pay the bill and even play trivia with nearby diners.

Hoverboards: In an homage to the skateboard chase in the first “Back to the Future” film, “Part II” features Marty riding a wheelless Mattel hoverboard around Hill Valley’s town square, as Biff Tannen’s grandson Griff and his punker cronies hound Marty on their own hoverboards.

The reality: Aside from static movie replicas, hoverboards just don’t fly off the store shelves in 2015. That could change in the near future. The Hendo Hoverboard uses magnetic levitation but requires special conductive surfaces such as aluminum or copper. It releases Wednesday to its first 10 Kickstarter backers who pledged $10,000. See hendohover.com for more information.

Drones that capture news and walk dogs: “Part II” featured a flying news drone capture Griff and his gang’s arrest after their hoverboard rampage destroys the Hill Valley courthouse. A bit later in the film, a flying drone is seen walking a dog on a leash through neighborhood streets.

The reality: Drones make plenty of news these days, be it news-gathering, filmmaking or general remote-control play. Unmanned aerial vehicles also are used for military combat and surveillance. Videographer Jeff Myers made some news of his own last year with an online clip of a Parrot AR.Drone walking a dog through a neighborhood.

Future Marty’s smarthome: The older Marty McFly in “Part II’s” future comes home to a knob-less front door that opens with a thumbprint and a voice-controlled TV that fires up multiple channels and video chats. And the McFly kitchen sports a drop-down fruit dispenser and a hydrator that can enlarge a miniature dehydrated pizza into a full-sized pie in seconds.

The reality: The smarthome of the present isn’t too far removed from the smarthome of the movie. Today’s so-called Internet of Things boasts Wi-Fi-enabled appliances that can communicate data between each other, so a refrigerator can offer weather forecasts as well as reminders to pick up more milk. Meanwhile, today’s TVs can deliver picture-in-picture capabilities and Skype video calls. And homeowners can enjoy keyless entry with fingerprint locks from brands such as Adel, NextBolt and Westinghouse.

René A. Guzman is a features writer for the San Antonio Express-News. He writes about geek and pop culture as well as consumer gadgets and technology, and writes a blog called Geek Speak that covers comic books, tabletop gaming and other geek culture in San Antonio and beyond. He has also written about health and fitness and other consumer topics. In addition to the Express-News, Guzman's work has appeared in the Baltimore Sun, Beaumont Enterprise, Chicago Tribune, Houston Chronicle and San Francisco Chronicle. Before joining the Express-News in December 1998, the San Antonio native co-owned a college humor magazine named Bitter, for which he wrote, designed and edited, as well as distributed at various campuses and businesses citywide.